Enterprise database systems receive, generate, and store data related to many aspects of a business enterprise. This data may relate to sales, customer relationships, marketing, supplier relationships, inventory, human resources, and/or finances. For performance and reliability reasons, enterprise database systems are becoming increasingly distributed, such that database nodes (and, consequently, the data stored therein) may be located in any number of distinct geographical locations.
Country-specific data privacy regulations may require that certain types of data (e.g., personal data) be stored in specific geographical locations. Typically these requirements are complied with at the database application level, with limited or no support from the underlying database platform.